The shadey blues

The Shade household (which consists of only Doug and I so far) has been feeling blue lately. I'm assuming it's the weather and the time of year that is playing a big role in our emotions. But, do you ever just feel like everything that can go wrong, will?! This past month has sent us a lot of big hurdles to jump over and has really tested our strength and love as husband and wife. We have had to deal with broken relationships, financial burdens, family issues, health concerns, work dilemmas...the list just goes on. It's sometimes hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you have so many things that just seem to pile on top of one another. Doug and I both rely very heavily on our faith and let me just tell you...that has been tested this past month too! Through it all, I have learned some very important things...
1. My faith is REALLY the only thing that I can count on that will never change or let me down, regardless of the situations that life throws our way.
2. No matter what crap we go through in life (and there will be more), Doug and I made a vow before God for better or for worse! We take that vow very seriously and I have learned that when two people are on the same page and vow to stick it out...overcoming negative circumstances can actually make you stronger rather than tear you apart!
3. I do not have it all together. I am not perfect. I will never be perfect, regardless of how badly I would like to be in life. I am not as smart as I would like to believe. I make mistakes. Often!

I keep reminding myself that I only get one shot at life. I only get one chance to live each hour! Instead of letting the crappy stuff get me down, I should be looking forward to and enjoying the good things! And...I do have a lot! I have the BEST husband anyone could ever ask for! He is strong and loving and I know that we have a bond that some people are not able to ever experience.
My 'wise beyond her years' Mother recently told me to stay positive; Spring is on it's way and it brings the hope of new life and fresh starts.
Spring can not come quickly enough!

Our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

You have to celebrate the small things in life, right? Well, Valentine's Day for us is just another excuse to have fun and celebrate our love. I know a lot of people hate this day, but, we love it! We celebrate everything else in life...why not celebrate our love?!

This Valentine's Day was very special for us. Last year we celebrated our first (and only) V-Day being Engaged and this year we are celebrating being married (way better!) :)

In the years past, we have always gone out to a fancy restaurant and splurged. This year, we decided not to go out. I think this was the first Valentine's Day in 7 years that we did not go out to dinner. We have really been trying to save money where we can and we both figured that we should enjoy the one thing that we have waited so long for...living together!

I decided I would cook up a big meal, just like it would be if we were eating out. I put together a spinach and artichoke dip appetizer (SUPER easy to make, by the way) and had a pork roast slow cooking all day. I made an apple glaze to go on top of it and it made the entire house smell amazing! I found a yummy recipe for ranch-garlic mashed potatoes and so I decided to try that as well. Since I had to work all day, I did not have enough time to get everything prepared by 7 AND make a dessert. So, we decided to have chocolate fondue for dessert. I bought a bunch of dippers (strawberries, bananas (for Doug), pound cake and marshmallows) and some chocolate. SUPER EASY and really romantic.

We have dinner every night at our kitchen table so I decided to do something different and MUCH more romantic. We have a big chest that sits in front of our couch in the living room. I took white linens and covered the table and then put a thin red linen down the center. I sprinkled flower petals in between votive candles down the red runner and dimmed the lights. And what's a romantic evening without the music playing softly in the background???

We sat on big pillows and enjoyed dinner together. It was really good (thank goodness...talk about a downer if the food didn't turn out good!) and exactly what I was hoping for. We opened a bottle of champagne that someone had given us for our wedding and we used heart shaped champagne flutes that we were given as a gift for registering at Crate&Barrel.

We agreed to only get each other cards and not to do anything for gifts. Our gift to each other was a quiet and romantic dinner together in our home. As I was getting the fondue together, Doug had put a gift at my place setting. When I saw what it was, I totally freaked out!!!! He had gotten me a Coach wallet!!!!!!!!!! I have been needing a wallet for the longest time now and have been putting everything into a little wristlet. He completely caught me off guard and got the most beautiful wallet I have ever seen!!!!!!! Yes, I really do have the best husband in all of the world!

We ended the night with chocolate fondue and went to bed early. And...I even went to bed without cleaning up the HUGE mess I made in the kitchen (which is really NOT an easy thing for me to do!). Guess there's nothing better to spoil the mood then cleaning a kitchen.

Doug and I both agreed that it was the most intimate and special Valentine's Day we have ever had!

~Have I mentioned lately how much I ADORE being married?!?!? ;)

Seattle Trip

My good friend, Justin, recently accepted a job with Microsoft and relocated to Seattle. Justin and I have been friends since 8th grade in High School and have shared a lot of memories! He was in our wedding and it has been very hard having him all the way across the Country! I went to visit him before the wedding in September, but Doug could not make it due to his work schedule. After my full report on how amazing Seattle is, Doug was itching to get out there! We were so excited when the trip was booked and I couldn't wait for Doug to see everything!!! AND, the trip could not have come at a better time! Doug and I were completely stressed out with family and work and really needed to get away. It was just a long weekend, but it was exactly what we needed to rejuvenate!

Our flight departed Philadelphia at 7:00 am on Thursday morning. We had a layover in Chicago and overall, the flight was not the greatest. We finally arrived in Seattle and met up with Justin. He was in downtown Bellvue so we got to see one of the Microsoft buildings. The views were amazing, even though it was foggy and rainy. I can only imagine how gorgeous it must be on a warm, clear day! We grabbed some starbucks (of course!) and did a little touring of bellvue. Thursday night was pretty quiet. It was amazing how tired we were. 3 hours doesn't seem like a lot to adjust to, but it really took a toll on us! We were exhausted and really had to push ourselves to stay up until 10:30, West Coast time.

The next morning, we woke up and headed up to Pikes Place Market in downtown Seattle. This is one of the biggest tourist attractions and was so cool! They had all sorts of fresh produce stands and fresh fish. It was amazing. The smells, however, were not so amazing. I guess with all of that fresh food (and fish!) you can't always keep it smelling nice. Doug was a sucker at every stand and wanted to try everything. It was really funny! The people LOVED him because he was so obliging. :) After we walked around the market, we went down this little cobblestone alley and found a wine tasting place. Since it was raining and we had some time to kill, we decided to go in. The place was so cozy and relaxing and we we tasted all sorts of wines. The lady that owned the shop was so nice and REALLY friendly! Actually, everyone was super friendly. We were saying that Seattle has the hospitality of the South but the trendiness of New York. And the food.....absolutely amazing!!! Everywhere we went, the food was to die for! I have never in my life experienced such good eats so many times in a row!

My best friend from college, Jasslynn, (who lives in Vancouver) drove down with her boyfriend to hang out for the weekend as well. We met up with them on Saturday morning and did more site-seeing. That night, we met up with some of Justin's friends from Microsoft and hung out in downtown Seattle. It was definitely a good time and great to see Justin making good friends!

Sunday was a pretty quiet day. We did take a drive up to Snoqualmie Falls to see the breathtaking waterfalls. They were gorgeous but it was so cold from the spray and the mist, we could only take it for about 10 minutes. We got a few glimpses of the mountains on our way back to Redmond. I have yet to see Seattle on a clear day where you can see all of the mountains. Maybe next time?

Monday was spent traveling. Doug and I caught our plane out of Seattle at 7:00 am (again) and had another layover in Chicago. This time the layover lasted for 4 hours. YUCK! Overall, the flight home was much more enjoyable than the flight out.

Doug and I had such a great time on our extended weekend in the West Coast. We had our 2 month anniversary while we were away and kept it pretty low key. It was so nice to be away and we both agreed that we need to take trips more often.

Yummy dessert recipe

So, I was watching the food network the other day and Paula Deen’s show came on. The theme of her show was a "romantic dinner." She was trying to create the most romantic dinner she could think up for her and her husband. I LOVE her and think she is just so adorable! She makes me want to pick up and relocate to the South. :)
Anyways, she created this dessert so quickly and they looked so incredibly amazing that I just had to try it. I actually made this for Doug as a surprise on our 1 month anniversary night. He LOVED them and was so impressed because they look so fancy. Little did he know how easy they were!!!!
The recipe is below and I would highly recommend it! Since Doug’s favorite candy bar is snickers, I just put ¼ of a snickers bar into the middle and added some semi-sweet mini chocolate chips. It smelled awesome when it was baking and some of the chocolate even bubbled out of the top of the bundle. You can use any type of candy bar or chocolate. I have even made them with marshmallows and peanut butter. YUMMY!!!!!

Chocolate Bundles with Chocolate Ganache

~recipe from Paula Deen's home cooking

Bundles:
1 sheet puff pastry
2 eggs
1 teaspoon heavy cream
8 chocolate kisses (recommended: Hershey's)
8 miniature chocolate candy bars

Ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces milk chocolate, broken into small pieces
Sweetened whipped cream, optional Fresh strawberries, sliced, for garnish Mint sprigs, for garnish

Bundles:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Unfold puff pastry and cut the sheet into 2 (4 by 4-inch squares). Beat eggs and cream together to create an egg wash. Brush pastry squares with egg wash. Place 2 chocolate kisses and 1 mini candy bar in the center of each pastry square. Repeat with remaining kisses and mini-bars. Pull corners of the square up around the chocolate, brushing edges with more egg wash, if necessary, to create a secure bundle. Brush exteriors of chocolate bundles with more egg wash. Repeat with remaining bundles.
Place bundles on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Ganache:
In a sauce pan bring the heavy cream to a boil. Place the chocolate pieces in a bowl and pour hot cream over top. Whisk until smooth.
Puddle ganache onto a plate and place 1 bundle on top. Top with whipped cream and additional ganache, if desired.
Serve bundles garnished with strawberry slices and mint sprigs.

Teacher frustrations

Since Doug and I have been married (a whole month and a ½ ) I have really intensified the Teacher job search. I have always been looking, but, I have relied on my salary for the wedding. So…I wasn’t in too much of a hurry. Well, now that I am under Doug’s benefits and we don’t have a big, expensive wedding looming over our heads, I have really felt the itch to get back into teaching! I have my PA Certification to teach Art to K-12. It sounds like that would be an easy search, right? Well…the unfortunate thing is that most schools only have 3 art teachers total (elementary, middle and high school). The benefits and retirement package that most public schools offer is so good, that no one leaves until they are forced to retire. GRRR! That means those of us that teach “specials” are waiting around for a retirement or a random maternity leave that stays permanent. It’s extremely frustrating!!! So, if any of you know of an Art Ed position......send it my way!!!
I was on an interview yesterday that was just AWFUL! In the midst of the interview, a 4th grader tried to strangle his teacher. 4th grade!!!!! The school was also in Chester Township, which is one of the poorest townships in the United States. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed after that interview.
I just need to keep remembering to trust God and that a position will open up when it is meant to be.
WAY easier said than done!!! Thank goodness I have an amazingly awesome husband that is beyond supportive. He really is fabulous.
Have I mentioned how much I adore being married?!?!?! :)

Happy one month anniversary to us

While we were on our honeymoon, Doug and I decided that we were going to celebrate each month anniversary for our first year of marriage. And…..today was our 1 month anniversary. YAY! We also decided that we would take turns planning surprises for one another, so, Doug would take the 1st month, I would take the 2nd, he would take the 3rd…and so on until we get to 1 year. After the 1 year mark, we’ll just celebrate years.
Just like everything that has involved the wedding, this month FLEW by! A lot of that probably has to do with the fact that we were on our honeymoon for 2 weeks and then the holidays were here. It has been an AMAZING month and I absolutely love being married. Everyone said it was going to be hard and be such a huge adjustment. It’s so weird…it has not been hard for us at all! There was about a day-a day in a half of adjustment and that involved moving all of my stuff into the apartment and getting situated in a new home. Other than that, we fell into a routine VERY quickly and smoothly. Maybe the hard part is coming…? BUT, I honestly couldn’t be happier with being married! Doug is a GREAT husband and makes me so happy!!!
We both started our anniversary morning off by waking up WAY late! For some reason, neither of us heard the alarm clock go off and Doug just happened to wake up when it was light outside. I had been feeling really sick, so I took a sick day. I spent the day sleeping, reminiscing about the activities from a month ago and watching the cooking channel. Since this was Doug’s anniversary to plan, I didn’t want to do too much. While I was watching the cooking channel, I saw this AWESOME recipe for chocolate bundles (basically, it is pastry puff filled with molten chocolate. Yum!). Since I was already cooking Doug a big Pot Roast, I decided to make a special dessert for him as well. Doug brought me a HUGE bouquet of flowers, chocolate truffles (like we had on our wedding night) and a gift certificate for a massage at my favorite spa, Toppers. What a sweet husband I have! This was the first time either of us were able to exchange Husband/Wife cards. It’s the little things in life…:)

Happy New Year!!!!

2007 was a whirlwind year! Last New Years we were celebrating our engagement and this year we are celebrating our new marriage!
While previous New Years have been a big deal for us, this one was a quiet one. My best friend, Justin, was in from Seattle so a bunch of us went to dinner in Skippack and then had a quiet evening at my Aunt’s house.
Doug and I are really looking forward to all that 2008 has in store for us and we are enjoying being married more each day.
I received the below email the other day and it really made me stop and think. I remember years ago when these words were made into a song. I don’t remember who sang it or even the melody; I do remember how profound all of the words were and I thought it was a good bit of advice to remember going into the New Year. This was written by Mary Schmich and printed in the Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1997.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:
Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters.

Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.

Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.